We have low unemployment, we have Australians in this group who can be trained to fill positions of need. Yet mean spirited, miserable,rather nasty and ungenerous howard wants to import foreign workers to fill the void. At the same time he wants to crack down on the Australian work force - WHY? Why cruel the work force we have and import foreign workers? Unless it's for entirely liberal reasons, unless it is to take away Labour's backers and their contibution through the unions, an ideological reason ONLY! YES that's howard to a tee, a fig for the nation let's get the labor party. PS. Remember I was a born liberal voter and have voted for them more than any other party - maybe I have woken up. numbat

there is a 'natural rate of unemployment' and unemployment above this rate is necessary in the medium term for increases in aggregate output - where else will the labour come from for firms to increase output?

to this end it is suggested that Australia has to increase the labour supply through immigration - it is not correct.

Those who advocate such want to lower the wage rate and to 'divide the workers' - to pass 'industrial relations legislation' which wokers, divided by culture, cannot fight against together.

There are enough people in England wanting to immigrate to Australia every year to fill the immigration quota - yet, people are brought in from all over the place -

the purpose is to model Australia after the US where there are so many cultural pockets of divided workers who cannot unite for worker's rights.